Alhambra: Does the number on the ID have to match the one you used to buy the ticket online?

i don't remember an id. All I remember is showing the credit card used to purchase the tickets -- BUT that was four or five years ago. Who knows what has changed.

Thanks Frank Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

Ok to update as of November 2018 if you buy the ticket online at the official site

https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/entradas-alhambra-general/

there is a id number you need to enter for each member in your party.

I didn't look but my logic tells me if they asked for an id number they are expecting to match it to something. Or why ask for it? If they just wanted an id, I would assume that they would state some like - Must present ID. This is my old comment -- Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Just use you passport number.

right on Frank; it is just that I did not have the other 2 people in my party id numbers at the time to purchase; and the time to enter availability decreases rapidly over a couple days

there is no "must present id" note anywhere in the process

This was printed in the email with my tickets (for myself and my husband):

Each visitor, regardless of age, must carry his/her own ticket, which can be issued individually. The ticket holder must keep it during the entire visit, and must show it, along with a personal identification document issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs or homologous organism of his/her country, at the request of any employee, either of the monument staff or the security service, as well as to the State Security.

For my tickets, I put each of our passport numbers down under "Visitor Data". Then under "Holder Data", my name is on both with my passport number on both. So the above is a little confusing because I think they are confusing the "holder" and the "visitor" when online, they holder at least the way I understood it, was the purchaser. I'm not concerned, I'll bring the tickets and both passports, and we will pretty much always be together.

I think what they are trying to avoid is a third party purchasing large amount of tickets for resale.

We visited the Alhambra just a few weeks ago, in late September. Although we brought our passports with us as instructed, we were never asked for ID. Neither was anyone else that I saw. However, you do need to re-present your ticket several times, because there are public areas between some of the sections.

P.S. In the main entrance area, they sell headphone guides - highly recommend you buy one, they were very informative. We had included the Nasrid Palace in our ticket, and the audio guide included all sections.

The Alhambra changed the ticketing process about a year ago. You used to have to retrieve the tickets from a cash machine in Spain using the credit card with which you made your pre-purchase. Now, when you pre-purchase, your tickets are emailed to you as a PDF that you can print at home. Each ticket is specific to an individual person (first name, last name, ID number -- which is passport # for US citizens).

As Jules mentioned, in order to prevent resale of the tickets, you can be required to show ID that matches the ticketholder's name. So, whenever you have to show your ticket -- which would be at the entrance to the Alcazaba, the Generalife, and the Nasrid palaces -- in theory the Alhambra staff can ask for ID to make sure it matches your ticket.

In our experience last April, we were never asked for ID; however, we were with a private tour guide. I have read (I think on TripAdvisor) about individuals who were asked to show ID. My guess is that if the name on the ticket matches the name on the passport, that would be good enough, regardless of the actual passport number, but that is just a guess on my part.

You could try either calling or e-mailing the Alhambra staff to confirm. There is contact information on their main page:
https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/

Good luck, and enjoy your visit!

-- Deb

Thanks Deb in Vermont. (my mom use to go to Craftsbury running camp up there from Chicago)

Just got my tickets as PDF tonight for January 4 2019;

for others not in the know on the current ticket process online if you buy DIY: the primary person buying tickets has to specify the gender, name, and id number (passport number I used) of each person in a party.

When I ordered our tickets I was at work and didn't have our passport numbers so I put in our drivers license numbers - it's not clear when you sign up what they are asking for but on the ticket it's clear they want your passport.

When we used our tickets - you have to present your ticket multiple times - my wife got asked for her ID the third or fourth time. They guys just checked the ticket against her passport and clicked a button. I don't know if it is random because it certainly wan't the first time we were checked but neither of our tickets had our passport number on them and it wasn't an issue.

Definitely have your ticket and your passport available to present but it's not like you'll need to present it to enter and as long as the rest of data is right I doubt you'll have a problem.
=Tod

We visited in October and were never asked for our ID ( passports). The tickets were scanned several times as we entered different sections, but the barcode was the only part that staff were interested in.